Chef Sheldon Simeon of Migrant Maui located in the beachfront Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on Maui has been recognized by Food & Wine magazine as one of the top 10 up-and-coming chefs in the U.S. In an online competition, thousands of votes were submitted to Food & Wine, which has announced Chef Sheldon as “The People’s Best New Chef 2014 – Northwest & Pacific Region.”
“We are proud of Chef Sheldon and whole-heartedly congratulate him,” said John Tolbert, cluster general manager of Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa and Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. “Sheldon is a brilliant young chef who was raised on the island of Maui and whose cooking is influenced by Hawaii’s island flavors, his grandparents’ Filipino cooking, and Hawaii Regional Cuisine.”
In season 10 of the Top Chef reality competition cable TV show, Chef Sheldon placed in the top three, dueling against two other chefs in culinary challenges and was named “Fan Favorite”. Simeon partnered with Chef Mark Ellman, one of the original founders of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement and manager/producer Shep Gordon to open Migrant Maui. Ellman and Gordon, also co-owners of Mala Wailea restaurant at Wailea Beach Marriott, always seem to attract a bevy of Hollywood’s Who’s Who to their Maui venues including Mala Wailea that is backed by a star-studded list of celebrities including rocker Alice Cooper, Richard Donner (Hollywood director), Don Nelson, Mike Kroeger (Nickelback), and Jerry Moss (winner of Kentucky Derby and founder of A&M Records).
